


For Better Or Worse

by Esperata



Category: Star Trek: Enterprise
Genre: Arguing, Engagement, Episode Related, M/M, Post-Mission, Romulan War, Section 31
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-19 04:53:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13697262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Esperata/pseuds/Esperata
Summary: Trip has both good news and bad news for Jonathan Archer. The good news doesn't go over as expected though.A prequel to "Where My Heart Will Take Me" but will stand alone.





	For Better Or Worse

**Author's Note:**

  * For [guardianoffun](https://archiveofourown.org/users/guardianoffun/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Where My Heart Will Take Me](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13453275) by [Esperata](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Esperata/pseuds/Esperata). 



> And for those who wanted the backstory.

“I got good news and bad news Captain. Which d’ya want first?”

Trip looked restive as he sat in front of Jonathan Archer, hands clasped and elbows resting on his knees. Jon surveyed him thoughtfully before answering.

“Better give me the bad news first.”

“Right.” Trip leant back and ran a hand through his ruffled hair. “I got a call from Harris. Yer remember him right?”

It was a redundant question. Archer was unlikely to forget the man who had subverted his Armoury Officer or who had provided them with the information on Terra Prime.

“He wants me ta do a job fer him. For Starfleet,” Trip amended but Archer was already shaking his head.

“I don’t know what he’s told you Trip but Section 31 isn’t something you want to get mixed up in.”

“I know but these are exceptional circumstances.” Trip met Jon’s worried gaze unflinchingly. “The Romulans have already attacked Alpha Centauri. I can’t just sit by on mah hands if there’s something I can do.”

“What exactly does he want you to do?”

Tucker clutched his hands together again.

“Go undercover to Romulus t’ sabotage their Warp-7 project.”

“How does he know they even have a Warp-7 project?” Jon demanded. “Or how to disguise you? No-one’s ever seen a Romulan!”

“I don’t know how he knows,” Trip answered, “but it makes sense they’d have somethin’ on the drawing board don’t it? An’ apparently he knows someone who’s been to Romulus.”

Archer looked away in frustration, unable to counter those arguments immediately and resisting the temptation to just shout some more. Trip filled the silence, clearly deciding to get it all out now he’d started.

“He wants you to help fake my death. You ‘n’ Phlox.”

Archer glared back at him.

“And if I refuse? This is a foolish idea Trip. You don’t want to get caught up in their shady operations. You’ll never be free from them else.”

“Sorry Jon.” Trip smiled grimly. “The decision’s already been made. You’ll be hearing from Admiral Leonard by the end o’ the day.”

Archer grit his teeth and pushed down his feelings of annoyance. It was hard not to snap at Trip, to demand why the man hadn’t talked to him sooner about this, but then Jon knew how Section 31 worked. He doubted they’d have left Trip any manoeuvring room.

“You said you had good news?” he prompted instead.

“Yes.” Trip’s face lit up and he immediately sat up straighter. “Ah want yer to marry me and Malcolm before I leave.”

Jon stared, utterly sure he must have misheard some part of that sentence.

“Malcolm?” he repeated. “You want me to marry you and… Malcolm?”

“Yup.”

Trip seemed completely oblivious to Archer’s puzzlement.

“But… it’s his fault.”

Trip’s happy smile disappeared.

“I beg your pardon?”

“If it weren’t for his involvement,” Archer explained tersely. “We’d never have come to the attention of Section 31.”

Trip shot him a disbelieving look before slouching back and folding his arms.

“Yeah, I’m sure the Chief Engineer of Starfleet’s first warp-5 starship would never have crossed their radar when lookin’ fer someone to infiltrate Romulans’ warp-7 programme. ‘Specially when he’d worked on that engine from the get-go and was one of the only people to ever set foot on a Romulan drone ship.”

Trip relaxed his posture and shifted forward again with a smile.

“Ah love him Jon. Have done fer quite a while.”

Jon watched his friend duck his head demurely at the admission, seemingly both proud and shy simultaneously. His thoughts drifted back to how Trip had acted about the tactical officer during those first couple of years. There’d definitely been a lot of flirting going on and if Trip had made this admission then, Archer wouldn’t have been surprised but…

“What happened to you and T’Pol?” he demanded feeling a swell of frustration.

Trip’s face fell at the outburst and now he stared at his old friend. There was confusion in that gaze and the gap between them couldn’t have been more apparent.

“We really _have_ lost touch,” he commented in sad surprise before shaking himself out of his melancholy and eagerly explaining. “The whole thing with T’Pol was just an accident of grief and the Expanse twisting everything up. Ah never loved her and she’s never loved me.”

“But you had a child!”

Tucker winced at the reminder of the innocent child he’d lost to Terra Prime’s manipulation but he didn’t hesitate in his reply.

“Not by choice. It was all just one accident after another. T’Pol getting emotionally vulnerable with that Trellium-D, planting some sort of Vulcan mind link in my head… we never _chose_ any of it.”

“And you mean to tell me now that you’ve chosen… Malcolm?”

Archer wasn’t entirely sure why he was digging his heels in so firmly over this but he clung to the notion that Trip had seemed so certain to end up with T’Pol. Clearly something was wrong with the situation and perhaps this was something he could fix.

“Yeah.” Trip practically sighed. “An’ he’s said yes!”

Archer sat silently staring at his old friend a long moment before his face hardened.

“I see. So Malcolm just so happened to say yes just when Section 31 recruited you for this mission?”

It took Trip a few seconds to decode what Jon was insinuating but then his own face fell into shocked incredulity.

“Yer think Mal said yes just t’ get me t’ agree to Harris’ plan?”

“It does seem particularly convenient,” Jon shot back.

Trip rose from his chair with a surge of righteous anger.

“Malcolm would never manipulate me like that! An’ after the hell I put him through I’m damn lucky he still wants to be with me!”

Archer rose as well, all his own anger bubbling to the surface as he planted his palms on his desk and glared across.

“He wouldn’t manipulate you? I’m sorry to disappoint you Trip but he was perfectly willing to sabotage a mission when Harris asked him to. He’s not the demure innocent you seem to be imagining.”

“Ah know he’s done some dodgy things and ah don’t fer a minute claim he’s innocent but ah know he wouldn’t hurt me. He loves me.”

“Really?” Archer scoffed. “Well he’s done a pretty good job of hiding it.”

“Yeah! He has,” Trip roared. “An’ you know why he was hiding it? Because he thought I didn’t love him anymore. He thought I wanted T’Pol. The last few years have practically broken him apart but you wouldn’t know ‘cause all you’ve ever seen is Lieutenant Reed, reporting for duty, Sir.” Trip managed a quite accurate impression of Reed’s impeccable accent before slipping back into his own strong drawl. “I spent two years falling in love with him before everything went to hell in a handbasket and now I’ve finally managed to fix things up with him and all you can think is he’s using me in some sort of covert operation?”

Trip finally leant back and slumped, a sigh escaping his lips. Archer remained frozen, stunned by the outburst. Tucker looked him over as if seeing him for the first time and shook his head sadly.

“Don’t worry. We’ll make other arrangements.” He strode to the door but stopped to look back once more before leaving. “An’ fer yer information… Malcolm said yes before I even heard from Harris.”

That said, Trip left.

Archer finally allowed himself to slip back into his seat and cradled his head in his hands. How could he have let things get so out of hand? How could his friendship with Trip have deteriorated so much over this mission that he no longer even knew who the man was planning to marry?

He knew how.

He’d stopped being Jon and started being Captain Archer. Instead of listening to his friend he’d listened to scuttlebutt. And instead of thinking rationally he’d allowed his anger at Section 31 to intrude on his disagreement with Trip.

Jon stood intending to follow the other man and offer his apology, for what it would be worth, but was interrupted by the comm.

“Yes? What is it?”

“It’s Admiral Leonard,” Hoshi’s voice answered. “He says it’s urgent.”

Archer sighed and sat again.

“Put him through.” He managed to force a smile onto his face before the admiral appeared on his monitor. “Admiral. What can I do for you?”

“I trust you’ve already heard from Commander Tucker, Captain?” The Admiral lost no time with small talk, which was a relief in Archer’s present mood.

“Yes,” he confirmed.

“Good. Instructions have already been communicated to Doctor Phlox and a freighter will be rendezvousing tomorrow that will be able to, ah, ship the Commander’s body back to Earth.”

“So soon?”

“Jonathan, every moment we delay is another instant when the Romulans might make a break through. We have to move quickly if we’re going to be effective before they advance too far to stop.”

Archer nodded numbly, knowing it was true but wishing he had more time to make things right with Trip.

“Can you spare someone to accompany the Commander home?” the Admiral asked unaware of Jonathan’s drifting thoughts.

Archer turned to him immediately, a plan forming swiftly as the question’s answer came to him.

“I can spare Lieutenant Reed.”

Admiral Leonard frowned.

“Are you sure? Won’t it seem odd for someone so high ranking to accompany a body home for burial?”

“Lieutenant Reed has worked for Section 31 in the past,” Jon answered briskly. “He’ll be able to tutor the Commander en route. Plus, they’re… close friends. No-one will question his going.”

“That’s ideal then.”

“I do have one condition,” Jon added.

“Oh?”

“Can you… fudge the dates on the death report?” At the Admiral’s arched eyebrows, Jon explained. “Trip wants to get married before he dies. It’ll look a bit odd if the wedding takes place after the burial.”

A sympathetic smile graced the Admiral’s face.

“I’m sure something can be arranged. I’ll have a word with Harris.”

“Thank you Admiral.”

Archer signed out and relaxed back in his chair.

It wasn’t much but it was a start.


End file.
